Stone and Brick Veneer in Skaneateles

Skaneateles Lake is the City of Syracuse's drinking water supply and the watershed carries its own rules. A project located in an environmentally sensitive area that disturbs 5,000 square feet or more of land is required to submit an Erosion and Stormwater Control Plan, and the guidance states that this applies to most of the Skaneateles Lake Watershed. Copies of the plan must be submitted to the City of Syracuse Water Department at least ten business days before any land disturbance activity, and anyone building a project that needs a local building permit, another land disturbance permit or a shoreline permit must also send copies of the application to the City of Syracuse Water Department.

Source: The Skaneateles Lake Watershed Website, Soil and Erosion Plans, published by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County with support from the City of Syracuse, under the Skaneateles Lake Watershed Rules and Regulations, accessed 2026-09-14

The Town of Skaneateles is the exception to the stormwater regime that covers the rest of this metro. Its annex to the county hazard mitigation plan records that it is not a regulated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, has no stormwater management plan and is not a member of the Central New York Stormwater Coalition, though it does have a stormwater management ordinance. The Village of Skaneateles records that it is a regulated MS4 but has neither a stormwater management ordinance nor a stormwater management plan. Every other municipality in this metro, including Clay, Cicero, Camillus, Manlius, Salina, DeWitt, Onondaga, Lysander, Marcellus and the villages of Baldwinsville, Liverpool, Solvay, East Syracuse, North Syracuse, Fayetteville, Manlius, Marcellus and Camillus, records MS4 designation, a stormwater ordinance, a stormwater plan and Coalition membership.

Source: Onondaga County, New York, 2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan, Town of Skaneateles Annex and Village of Skaneateles Annex, Onondaga County Department of Planning, accessed 2026-09-14

In the Town of Skaneateles, 12.9 percent of the mapped soil area is classed poorly drained, somewhat poorly drained or very poorly drained, and 41.8 percent is classed well drained. Honeoye silt loam covers about 19.7 percent of the town on 3 to 8 percent slopes and about 9.2 percent on 8 to 15 percent slopes, Lima silt loam about 12.4 percent, and about 12.7 percent of the mapped area is open water, which is Skaneateles Lake.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Geographic Database for Onondaga County New York, survey area NY067, queried through the Soil Data Access service, accessed 2026-09-14

Median owner-occupied home value, owner-occupancy rate and the share of housing that is single-family detached vary widely across this metro. Skaneateles village reports a median value of 647,100 dollars with 75.5 percent owner occupancy, the Town of Skaneateles 457,800 dollars, Radisson 313,600 dollars, the DeWitt census place 297,600 dollars, the Town of Lysander 288,400 dollars, Manlius village 263,300 dollars, Fayetteville village 258,700 dollars, the Town of Manlius 253,600 dollars, the Town of Marcellus 245,700 dollars, the Town of DeWitt 243,500 dollars, Marcellus village 225,600 dollars, the Town of Cicero 221,200 dollars, Baldwinsville village 219,900 dollars, the Town of Camillus 209,000 dollars, the Town of Clay 205,900 dollars, Liverpool village 189,600 dollars, the Town of Van Buren 169,600 dollars, Camillus village 164,200 dollars, North Syracuse village 163,000 dollars, the Town of Salina 160,500 dollars, Solvay village 150,000 dollars, the City of Syracuse 138,400 dollars and East Syracuse village 126,200 dollars. The county median is 200,200 dollars.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25003 Tenure, table B25077 Median Value, and table B25024 Units in Structure, accessed 2026-09-14

Section R703.12.2 of the Residential Code of New York State, Flashing at Foundation, requires that for adhered masonry veneer on exterior stud walls a corrosion-resistant screed or flashing of a minimum 0.019 inch, or 26 gage, galvanized or plastic, with a minimum vertical attachment flange of 3 1/2 inches, shall be installed to extend a minimum of 1 inch below the foundation plate line.

Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, Section R703, Exterior Covering, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14

Section R703.12.3 requires a water-resistive barrier behind adhered masonry veneer and states that the water-resistive barrier shall lap over the exterior of the attachment flange of the screed or flashing provided in accordance with Section R703.12.2. The lap direction is the whole point: the barrier over the flange carries water out of the wall, and the barrier behind the flange carries it in.

Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, Section R703, Exterior Covering, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14

Section R703.1.1 of the Residential Code of New York State states the governing principle for every cladding on a frame wall: the exterior wall envelope shall be designed and constructed in a manner that prevents the accumulation of water within the wall assembly by providing a water-resistant barrier behind the exterior cladding as required by Section R703.2, and a means of draining to the exterior water that penetrates the exterior cladding.

Source: 2020 Residential Code of New York State, Section R703, Exterior Covering, via UpCodes, accessed 2026-09-14

The masonry industry's own construction specification sets its cold weather trigger at 40 degrees Fahrenheit, not at freezing. Brick Industry Association Technical Note 1 states that the primary purpose of the cold weather construction procedures is to achieve complete hydration of the cement, which occurs only when material temperatures are 40 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, and that as ambient temperatures fall the chemical reaction slows and may stop completely unless adequate heat is maintained in the mortar or grout. The consequence it names is incomplete cement hydration producing soft, friable mortar with reduced durability.

Source: Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 1, Hot and Cold Weather Construction, accessed 2026-09-14